Deals & People May 20, 2022

Retirement Industry People Moves

OneDigital names vice president of product; Advisor Group acquires Infinex; T. Rowe Price appoints senior ESG leader; Voya hires chief information security officer; and more.

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Art by Subin Yang
Art by Subin Yang

OneDigital Appoints VP of Product

OneDigital has appointed Jyoti Mokal as vice president of product.

According to OneDigital, the appointment reflects the company’s focus on “tech-forward product innovation” and is the latest in a string of strategic hires.

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In this new role, Mokal will focus on scaling up the operations of the growing product team under Vinay Gidwaney, chief product officer. Mokal is joining OneDigital after most recently serving as a vice president of product engineering at Zipari, a customer experience platform for health insurance payers. As one of six founding members of the organization, she worked on product engineering from the firm’s inception in 2014 to the exit to Thoma Bravo in 2020. Before founding Zipari, Mokal served in various leadership roles for Freelancers Insurance Company, GSA, Motorola and GE. 

According to Gidwaney and the OneDigital leadership, Mokal’s appointment underscores the firm’s focus on technology infrastructure initiatives and navigating the benefits/advisory industry’s ongoing digital transformation.

Advisor Group Acquires Infinex Financial Holdings 

Advisor Group has reached a definitive agreement to acquire Infinex Financial Holdings Inc., the holding company of a privately held broker/dealer.

Infinex, which has a primary focus on supporting banks, credit unions and financial institution-based financial advisers and their clients, has more than 750 financial professionals overseeing approximately $30 billion in client assets. The firm currently supports more than 230 community-based bank and credit union programs with clients in all 50 states.

According to the firms, the acquisition has been structured to create a seamless transition for Infinex’s financial institution partners, affiliated financial advisers and their clients—with no restructuring or repapering of accounts necessary.

Following the completion of the transaction, which is subject to FINRA and other regulatory approvals, Infinex will become a member firm in the Advisor Group network of firms. It will continue to operate under its own distinct brand, executive leadership team and operating model. Infinex President and CEO Stephen Amarante will join Advisor Group’s executive leadership team.

Founded in 1993 and headquartered in Meriden, Connecticut, Infinex has been providing financial services practice management technology via a proprietary platform for nearly three decades. According to the firms, the combination of Infinex with Advisor Group is expected to empower the financial institution-focused firm’s growth.

Federated Hermes Names New VP in West Region

The responsible investment firm Federated Hermes Inc. has hired Scott Kelley as vice president and senior retirement consultant, western region.

Kelley reports to Stephen Cronin, senior vice president and national sales manager of retirement.

Kelley joins Federated Hermes with more than 20 years of industry experience, most of it as a retirement plan and plan sponsor relationship manager. Previously, Kelley served as an employee benefits specialist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch in Portland, Oregon. Prior to that, he was a vice president and senior retirement consultant at Oppenheimer Funds.

Kelley replaces the senior vice president and senior retirement consultant Steven Cohen, who is retiring after nearly three decades at Federated Hermes.

Headquartered in Pittsburgh, Federated Hermes has nearly 2,000 employees across London, New York, Boston and other offices worldwide.

Newfront Adds Fiduciary Expert  

The retirement services team at Newfront has expanded with the hire of Rich Schainker.

Schainker joins Newfront from Bank of America, where he served as director of employee benefits for nearly three years. Previously, he was a senior regional vice president in retirement plans at Invesco for 19 years; he also served in leadership roles at John Hancock, Principal Financial Group and T. Rowe Price.

Based in San Francisco, Schainker will serve clients across the country.

Newfront specializes in the delivery of risk management, employee experience, insurance and retirement solutions, with an emphasis on transparent data delivered in real time. Headquartered in San Francisco, the firm has offices throughout the country and more than 750 employees.

T. Rowe Price Group Names ESG Enablement Head

T. Rowe Price Group Inc. has announced that Poppy Allonby will join the firm next month as head of ESG Enablement.

In this new role, Allonby will join the firm’s environmental, social and governance leadership committee and help execute the firm’s ESG strategy. In alignment with T. Rowe Price’s business strategies and ESG investing capabilities, she will oversee the firm’s corporate ESG positioning, global ESG product range, regulatory engagement and go-to-market approach.

Allonby will be based in London and report to Eric Veiel, head of global equity and member of the management committee, with oversight responsibility for the firm’s ESG investing, corporate and operational activities.

Most recently, Allonby was head of global product in key regions for BlackRock, where she worked on developing and delivering the sustainable product strategy for its active investment business. She was also responsible for product strategy, product development and structuring and ongoing investment oversight. She serves on the external advisory board of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Energy Initiative, MIT’s hub for energy research, education and outreach.

NMG Consulting Acquires Chatham Partners

NMG Consulting Inc. has acquired Chatham Partners.

The Chatham Partners team, led by President and CEO Peter Starr, will become a part of NMG Consulting and continue to deliver research and insights to U.S. clients.

According to the firms, NMG’s U.S. growth strategy seeks to expand its range of North American offerings to include a specialist strategy consulting practice integrated with internally produced insights and data analytics. NMG’s leadership says the Chatham Partners acquisition will be instrumental in building this platform.

The Chatham team will continue to operate under Starr’s leadership.

Alerus Names New Retirement Director

Alerus has announced the promotion of Rob Woytassek to senior vice president and director of retirement and benefits.

In this role, he is responsible for the direction, development and oversight of Alerus’ retirement and benefits plan products, ensuring their seamless delivery to clients. He is also responsible for leading product-focused team members in the retirement and benefits division and driving continued innovation across product areas while maintaining a high level of client service.

As a senior vice president, Woytassek joins Alerus’ senior management team and will play a direct role in shaping the company’s strategic decisions and organizational management.

Woytassek joined Alerus in 2012 and has served in a variety of roles, including retirement account manager, retirement client service manager and director of product management. He has nearly 20 years of experience in the financial services industry and has specialized in retirement services for his entire career. He holds a bachelor’s degree in mass communications from Minnesota State University Moorhead and is a graduate of the Dale Carnegie training program.

Neal Gerber Eisenberg Names New Partner

Andrew Douglass as has joined the law firm Neal Gerber Eisenberg as a partner in the employee benefits and executive compensation group.

Douglass advises private and public companies on tax-qualified and non-qualified health and welfare plans, retirement plans, executive compensation and other employee benefit arrangements. He manages plan design, administration, governance, participant claims and appeals, fiduciary responsibility issues and disclosure and reporting requirements under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act and the Internal Revenue Code.

Douglass also negotiates agreements with plan service providers and represents clients in audits and related matters before the IRS, the Department of Labor and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation. He handles employee benefit issues for individual employment and severance agreements and withdrawal liability and delinquent contribution demands from multi-employer plans.

Douglass received his law degree from Saint Louis University and his bachelor’s degree from Miami University.

Voya Hires Chief Information Security Officer

Stacey Hughes has joined Voya Financial Inc. as a senior vice president and chief information security officer.

In this role, Hughes will be responsible for advancing Voya’s vision and strategy for its information security program and supporting Voya’s focus on providing products, solutions and technologies.

According to the firm, Hughes will work to align Voya’s information security investments and capabilities. She will lead the effort to anticipate and proactively mitigate information security risks while also supporting business growth and innovation.

Hughes will report to Santhosh Keshavan, chief information officer of Voya. She will be “one of many leaders” practicing a hybrid-working model from Atlanta, Georgia, the firm says.

Hughes holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Wayne State College and an MBA from DeVry University-Keller Graduate School of Management.

Data & Research May 19, 2022

A Profound Opportunity for Advisers

A new survey report notes that women control a third of total U.S. household financial assets today—more than $10 trillion—and as much as $30 trillion more is expected to shift into the hands of U.S. women over the next five years.

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The Alliance for Lifetime Income and HerMoney have published new research findings based on a survey taken in March 2022, compiling the responses of more than 1,000 women who are members of the HerMoney community.

As detailed on the group’s website, HerMoney is a digital media organization focused on improving the relationships women have with money. Their stated mission is to level the playing field for financial security, confidence and power. According to the group’s survey data, nearly three in four (73%) women know what steps to take to build their retirement nest egg. However, less than half (47%) feel like they know how to make their money last throughout retirement.

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Jean Chatzky, an Alliance for Lifetime Income fellow and CEO of HerMoney, says these figures regarding income are “striking,” especially considering that the 401(k) plan system has been developing for more than 40 years.

“The vast majority of women in the HerMoney Community know how to accumulate enough money for retirement,” she says, “but they are still scratching their heads when it comes to making that money last.”

As Chatzky points out, this uncertainty has created a major point of concern. More than half (52%) of women rank running out of money as one of their top two concerns when it comes to retirement and retirement planning, including 46% of the highest earning women, or those with $200,000 or more in annual household income.

The good news, Chatzky says, is that nearly all women surveyed (91%) are making contributions to a 401(k), individual retirement account, 403(b) or other dedicated retirement investment vehicle. A majority (55%) are saving 15% or more of their income for retirement. Among women who have less than $100,000 in annual household income, retirement saving remains a clear financial priority, with 83% of this group making contributions and more than a third (36%) saving 15% or more of their income.

“The women we studied are almost solely focused on saving as the end-all be-all for retirement, when it’s equally important to build a retirement income plan that will make your money last,” Chatzky says. “It’s not surprising then that four in ten women say protected income—a pension or investment that provides a paycheck for the rest of their life—would alleviate their concerns about running out of money.”

Jean Statler, CEO of the Alliance for Lifetime Income, says it is essential for financial professionals to broaden their focus beyond the accumulation phase of the savings journey.

“I’m not at all surprised that women are saving more, but so many still don’t know how to make that money last for 20, 30 or more years in retirement,” Statler warns. “It’s critical that we change that, especially given today’s market volatility and uncertainty, by helping women shift their thinking to retirement income planning and consider protected income from an annuity to help ensure they never run out of money.”

As Chatzky and Statler note, protected income in the U.S. comes from three primary sources. These are Social Security, private pensions and annuities purchased by individuals. Most women surveyed do not associate protected income with an annuity; in fact, just 3% of women say purchasing an annuity is “extremely important” to securing their financial future.

HerMoney and ALI recommend that women seek out and work with trusted financial professionals who are knowledgeable on retirement income planning. As the research shows, the 44% of women who work with a financial professional are significantly more likely to know the steps to take to make their money last in retirement compared with those who don’t have an adviser.

“Women control a third of total U.S. household financial assets today—more than $10 trillion—and $30 trillion more is expected to shift into the hands of U.S. women over the next three to five years,” Statler says. “Any financial professional who isn’t thinking daily about how to better meet the wealth management and retirement income needs of American women simply isn’t paying attention. The economic strength of women in our country today is profound, but that doesn’t mean they don’t want advice.”

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